


The Lost One

by sinful_soul



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, F/M, Fantasy, First work - Freeform, Gen, M/M, More tags to be added, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Tags Are Hard, feedback very much appreciated, feel free to shout at me in the comments, how does one tag, i hope y'all can handle a bit of swearing, mystery? kinda, science i guess, there's action too, will probably add some concept art to this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:01:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28320558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sinful_soul/pseuds/sinful_soul
Summary: Imagine waking up not where you remember going to sleep, it's not somewhere in your room or house, it's not even somewhere you recognize.





	1. Uncertainty

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone, I'm not really sure if I'll particularly get anywhere with this work so don't have your expectations too high, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless :D

Imagine waking up not where you remember going to sleep, it's not somewhere in your room or house - _so no sleepwalking funny business_ , it's not even somewhere you recognize - _kidnapped then?_ but there's no restrains to be felt… actually… what are you feeling… _eyes are closed_ \- wait but didn't you wake up, _maybe just conscious, there's light... somewhere... above?_ you can feel it on your face and it sinking through your eyelids tickling at your eyes underneath, ok what else… - _grass… grass? ok so maybe forest_... wait but why are you in a forest...

* * *

His eyes fluttered open, blinking heavily, no longer protected from the light raining through the foliage above. While adjusting to the sudden change in light levels, he tried looking around catching nothing but trees and more forest in his field of vision. Building a little confidence he tried to stand up from his laying down position managing to now sit cross-legged to further inspect his odd surroundings.

There was nothing but trees, the occasional bushes and dark spots. Sound wise the forest was silent, it seemed almost eerie, flooded with light yet it felt haunted. It was so deprived of any sound that he snapped a twig found in the grass just to make sure it wasn't his ears that were the problem. Turns out it wasn't but the snap still sounded somewhat muffled yet echoing at the same time. This whole situation was just getting weirder by that second sending shivers down his spine every time he looked around the silent trees just to find nothing.

He decided to turn his attention to the ground since everything around him wasn't offering much information. There was just grass, a few small branches and twigs here and there, some fallen leaves, nothing weird for a forest, at least he assumed that's where he was. Turning his head to inspect the ground behind him as well, he found a discarded lab coat laying where once was.

Now that he saw it he realized the memory of what happened before he woke up in this strange place was not exactly there. He felt like it was yet nowhere he could reach it. Seeing as his memory was on his side as much as his surroundings he decided to finally stand up and take a look at himself so maybe spark something in his memory. He found himself wearing a black shirt, sleeves rolled up above his elbows, and it was half tucked in a pair of black jeans, that were complete with a cut above his right knee, and turning his attention further down he discovered a pair of black sneakers with white soles and almost neon green laces and accents. Observing his hands he found them covered in a pair of black gloves. _Do I usually wear this much black?_ he thought. Running his gloved hands through his hair he found half buried in the golden brown strands a pair of steampunk looking goggles. _Weird outfit to wear with a lab coat_ he noted taking said forgotten item and putting it on.

Shuffling around trying to get a better feel for the uncanny atmosphere, there was finally a sound somewhere in the canopy which made his heart jump out of his chest beating with speeds he never felt before, the air around the forest suddenly feeling heavy. He turned to the sound, taking a somewhat defensive position, prepared to run if it came to that while also trying to calm down releasing a breath he didn't know he was holding.

He felt a cold sharp breath on the back of his neck, it was weak and short yet able to send ghostly shivers that felt like electricity rapidly spreading through his whole body. In the heat of the moment he turned on his heels taking in the process a few steps back and covering the nape of his neck.

To his utter surprise he wasn't met with the blood shot eyes of a deadly and hungry predator ready to rip his head clean off, no he encountered a small hooded figure, curiously eyeing him from behind the inky fringe coming down on her pale face from below the hood. He locked his gaze on the flaming pools of gold that were her eyes still interrogatively evaluating and examining his every movement. She was probably half his height yet her intense golden stare was somewhat intimidating. He opened his mouth in an effort to say... _something_ , slowly closing it when nothing came out, he was frozen in shock, locked in place by the weight of her priceless eyes, unable to so much as look away.


	2. Questioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting some answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's pretty long so stay with me here

There was something about this stranger standing in front of him that kept tingling the back of his mind, telling him to run, to turn tail here and now and get as far away as possible. But was his curious nature going to let him do that? Of course not. So he stayed put, t in place, observing the person in front of him just as puzzled as she was. He wanted to ask… wanted to ask where he was, what had happened to him, ask for a name to put to this young and nearly ghostly face, ask why he was where he was and why someone who was seemingly so young and fragile was doing in such a place, _would someone like her even know the answer to half of these?_ He wanted answers but his voice kept refusing his questions.

He tried speaking again, opening his mouth to request solutions for his dilemma, but before he could so much as make a sound he felt a, somehow surprisingly, warm and tender hand on his wrist now leading him with unexpected ease through the now weirdly tamed woods. "Not here" a mere whisper that he almost missed. It was small and quite but confined and knowing simultaneously.

Before he knew it they slipped from between the woodlands out into the an open field. A glimpse of what seemed to be a town roamed afar. But it ended up being closer that he expected since he didn’t even have enough time to accurately take in the new location outside the forest that he found himself in the lively burg. The steady hand on his wrist was still there now guiding him slower as if to allow him to absorb the current environment.

The settlement looked almost majestic, enchanting in a way. Old and new at the same time. It resembled the medieval styled villages from videogames. It stroke him with a grounding sense of familiarity that he didn't know he needed. The grey tiled rooftops and the stoned walls and dark spruce planks had a homely feel to them. The somewhat crowded roads were neatly cobbled leading to the square, wells and fountains sprinkled around the town and packed markets. The ambient sounds were a nice change from the ominous forest by now almost forgotten. Hammers hitting metal undeniably belonging to blacksmiths somewhere hidden between all the other houses, horses and carriages of merchants and people coming in and out and moving around in their day to day lives along the roads lined by the market.

Everything felt all too surreal and the inhabitants didn’t help that nagging feeling that was creeping up his spine. At first glance most seemed normal aside from the obvious, to him - fantasy clothing, it all just felt like some sort of giant cosplay convention and everyone was giving him a side eye due to him not coming prepared for the event, but looking again it seemed too normal for these people for it to be anything of the sorts. Some of them had animal traits, like ears, tails, even wings, some didn’t even look any human to begin with like different looking skin, proportions and appendages. He found himself gawking and he felt all the eyes on his back at every other step he took. _Wait… I'm not… dead… am I?_ he wondered _This isn't somehow one of those cringy isekai… right? I really don’t feel like dealing with magic… or any crisis or magical war this 'world', I suppose, has_ he paused his train of thought _If I am dead however, how would that even have happened? Was it my experiment? My research didn't deem it deadly in any way…_ his idea was interrupted by the sudden apparition of heavy laughter and a lot more chattering.

The girl has lead him to a red roofed building with white stone for walls with a slightly raised base with a few cobble stairs leading to the dark spruce door. _Is this a… bar? tavern? inn?_ The building was pretty full, the sun did seemed like it was about to set so this didn't surprise him that much. This did however confirm his theory of this being a bar or tavern. He didn’t realize how chilly it was outside until they entered. It was really warm and somewhat cosy with a stone floor, stone brick pockets in the walls, housing warm lighted lanterns and a nice stone chimney behind the counter alongside some shelves and cupboards sheltering bottles and wooden mugs with barrels looming on top of it all. The walls were also framed by wooden pillars that lead up to a wooden ceiling that was supposedly the flooring for the next story as suggested by the timbered staircase in the corner escorting people up and down it. _So it's both I guess_.

Upon reaching a table in the corner of the room the hand anchored on his wrist ultimately released it now gesturing for him to sit down, so he did and before he could look back at her she was gone in the crowd, the thought _Is this just a sick joke?_ started lingering in his mind so he decided to push it away in favour of analysing his surroundings and most importantly his situation. _Do these people know what 'staring is rude' means? At least here I won't_ — _wait this is a bar half of them are probably too wasted to even think—_ his thoughts were cut off by a plate and mug placed if front of him by an unmistakable maid.

"Your friend said she'll be with you in a bit so you can start without her. Enjoy your meal, sir!" she smiled and turned away, visibly failing at covering her nervousness when he made eye contact, he marked.

The plated food didn't appear to be anything too special in particular. What he figured was mashed potatoes along with some peas and some carrot stripes, all accompanied by a loaf of bread. He concluded the liquid in the mug must be beer mainly based on all the foam on top and the fact that this was a bar. What caught his eye thought was the currant looking cluster meticulously placed next to the potatoes on the other side as the vegetables. They reminded him more of gooseberry but in an radiant shade of golden orange.

"Not hungry?" the girl's voice tinkled his ears. Shifting his gaze to the source, letting his eyes follow the short haired figure as she sat down across from him, resting her head on her hand and smiling.

"No I…" he snapped out if his thoughts "I am… Thanks" she tilted her head a bit finding a better position to rest it.

"So you do speak" she giggled quietly "good to know" and just smiled. It was now one of the key features of her face really complementing her eyes, now no longer obstructed by the hood of her cloak.

He swallowed almost drily glancing at the food offered to him, his paranoic instincts telling him not to trust is because there was either a catch to this or it was poisoned.

"I didn't do anything to the food don’t worry" she spoke again noticing his obvious doubt of the meal, he eyed her dubiously now having more reason to believe she did. She reached for the loaf of bread taking half for herself and taking a bite out of it, probably in an attempt to prove her words "there's no catch to it either in case you were wondering" she said swallowing the bread.

She was talking as if she knew exactly what he thought, as if she was just reading from a wide open book. Now he considered himself a pretty hard to read person but she seemed like she was looking through a one way crystal clear wall, her now partially dopey smile providing the void like opacity from his side. He took one more look at the plate a small sigh escaping his lips. He picked up the fork he was provided with by the maid and started digging in still pretty warry of it all and leaving the small branch of fruit for last all while she made her way through her half of the loaf.

As he was taking the last bites of the mashed potatoes she giggled again "They're not just for decoration, although I know they look the part" she said referring to the fruit "they're called orberries and this is one of the only places I know that actually serves them, they're quite sweet not gonna lie but the cook here somehow make them work with every kind of meal he prepares, they're also quite rare so that's why it's even more impressive" she explained fondly.

A little hesitantly he carefully picked up the little branch bringing one of the little flares into his mouth. Slightly taken aback by the sudden burst of aroma he swallowed "Wow... they really are sweet" his eyes glittered looking at the rest as he ate the rest while the girl was quietly giggling at him. He considered the mug after he finished but decided against it for now and glanced at the pale face in front of him.

"Right, now then" she started, standing up "follow me" with a short confused look he did as asked and got up walking behind the short figure walking up the stairs.

She moved to push open one of the doors on the second floor and gestured for him to go in. He complied and went inside hearing the door close as he stood there starring at the bed. At that point his desire for answers was too much.

He took a deep breath "Alright so" he started releasing it "this is either a trap or a joke, alternatively you're making me take the floor overnight because there's no way you'd be okay with sleeping in the same bed"

He turned to the now laughing character sitting cross-legged in front of the closed door, cloak discarded on the floor next to her, revealing an outfit that was definitely an bit of an odd sight on such a young figure, a black tight glove sleeved sweater covering the top half of her body with belt like bands around her wrists and a dark leather shoulder pad shielding her right shoulder held in place by a same dark leathered belt across her chest, black equally tight pants with a small satchel attached to her right leg, half of her pants covered by knee high black leather boots with what seemed to be metal toe, the two crossed belts on her waist held another two little satchels on her left and a row of five little bottles on the right, a silvery hilt also poking out from her back indicating a dagger most likely also pointing towards the fact that she was probably right handed. That was a sort of mercenary outfit if he ever saw one even if it was in a videogame. His wariness of what her intentions were grew by the second. He frowned a little tilting his head in confusion at the laughing girl.

She calmed down wiping at her eye "You're definitely a paranoic clever one that'll probably keep you alive more than most of your survival instincts around here" she said leaning back against the door positioning her hands to cushion her head "now are you just gonna stand there or sit your ass down" she grinned almost mockingly. His eye twitched at her cocky tone but obeyed and took a seat on the bed taking his own coat off and putting it the foot of the bed in the process.

"So what you're saying is that you'll be the one sleeping on the floor" he leaned back on his hands staring into the golden flames that were her eyes.

"Basically, yeah~" she hummed looking at the window that was behind him, across from the door as if she was more listening to her surroundings rather than looking outside.

"Why thought?" he hummed in response. He still wasn't sure of her intentions and with her viable background, a possible professional at hiding their true aim even to the trained eye, it was safe to say he was very suspicious of any claim and any of her actions.

Before she even moved to give her reasoning there was a knock on the door, seemingly simple at first but intended as a code when you were there so examine the receivers face knowingly smiling as she moved up to open the door. There was a moment of silence at the sudden punch coming her direction from the other side, concern slashing on his face before he saw her catching the stranger by the wrist dragging him inside swiftly pushing him from behind so she could close the door, the effortless movement confirming his 'trained fighter' theory.

"You're still one off" she grinned rested on the once again closed door watching as the new figure turned on his heels smirking at her smug face.

"And you're still too cocky, I told you to stay away from any settlements for the time being" he commented regaining his composure.

She sighted "Can you stop stressing over me for once, I can take care of myself and besides no one will recognize her here, she's never been here" The man took a deep breath closing his eyes and massaging the bridge of his nose. Brat.

The new presence then turned to him obviously done with her comments from just that short interaction but offering a warm smile and a leather gloved hand for him to shake which is exactly what he did as he stood up.

"Ash, a pleasure" the man spoke calmly confidently griping him hand.

"Felix, that goes both ways" he responded slightly staring at the garnet red replacing the white of eyes and the almost glowing scarlet irises in front of him, Ash's long yet somewhat spiky blond hair betraying the odd fatherly calmness radiating from his gaze.

The blonde let go "Did the little gremlin over there tell you anything yet?" he asked motioning with his thumb over his shoulder at the girl leaning on the door. He mentally laughed at the description of his companion but shook his head at the question. Ash sighted and taking off his own cloak, revealing an outfit similar to the girl's but more leathery having more of a hunter vibe than mercenary, he sat down on the bed motioning for Felix to do the same.

Perching his elbow on one of his legs resting his head on his palm, Ash offered him another calm look "So, ask away, what's on your mind?".

He considered the question for a moment "Too much" he smiled lightly "But I suppose we could start to what or where this is and why am I here" he glanced at the awaiting red eyes.

"That's understandable, this situation must be incredibly overwhelming" he nodded understandingly "Right then—" he leaned back on his hands "for the where, we're in the midway dimension we call Eixin, an overworld if you will, and the city we're in is Shey, a mostly species neutral city and one of the only ones in the human territory of Oril. As for the why, that is a pretty complicated story, but for short, a long time ago some asshole qidin, or elves as I've heard your world calls them, thought of themselves as some sort of gods and played with elder spells, ripping an unstable portal to another world, that being yours. The erratic magic seeping from those spells affected your world. This included transporting some of the humans of that time to Eixin. And from time to time that magic still affected and still affects your world probably for decades to come although its affects have diminished considerably" he sighted glancing at Felix's face visibly struggling to comprehend the new information "I know this is a lot to take in all at once" he sighted closing his eyes.

"So this really is connected to my experiment, interesting" Felix snapped him out of his momentary peace, now it was his turn to appear confused, tilting his head at the thinking human, prompting him to elaborate.

"Well you see" he started placing a hand on his chin "there have been a series of disappearances throughout the years, and they didn't go unnoticed. As a uni IT and robotics student I thought this would make a fantastic project to work on for my diploma even though in reality it was mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. Investigating all of the known cases, unclassified or not, as risky as that might be, connecting them in some way, then trying to solve them. A show of determination and information gathering skills.

I did just that and began my research, through legal or may or may not have used a few less legal methods, went to some of the more recent sights and caught some weird readings in air pressure and density. That must've been magic, yes?" he peeked at Ash, who only nodded "So I decided to try and design some sort of machine to pick up or even attract these abnormalities, but since this was more or less out of my field I actually had to ask some friends from engineering and natural sciences for some help. They agreed and we started to work on this little device of ours. Last night, or at least what I believe was last night, we worked at my place and after the others left I decided to return to my online research, but not realizing my own tiredness I think I feel asleep. Next thing I knew I was out in a forest"

"The Esstall Woods" Ash hummed mostly to himself, looking up at the ceiling his eyes not particularly fixed on it.

"It was either an unfortunate coincidence or the device you say you were working on must've somehow attracted the spell's magic to your location, dragging you here in the process" the girl explained making her presence known once more. He ran hand through his hair and picking at his goggles _Things are just getting more complicated_ he let out a defeated breath.

"You okay? You're kinda pale all of the sudden" he looked up meeting the golden eyes way too close for comfort.

He yelped back in surprise and nodded "Yeah, I— it's just a lot to wrap your head around all at once you know" he looked away. She straightened her back still sheepishly looking at him with a glimpse of concern.

"Well a good night's sleep will probably help with that" she turned to Ash "Did you get my bag on your way here?"

He took off the bag he had strapped to his back throwing it to her "Of course I did. If I don’t take care of these things who else will" he grinned then threw a quick look over his shoulder to see the sun beginning to set down.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll be on my way" he stood up from his seat on the bed taking his discarded cloak along "Meet me at the Glistening Creek at noon?" the hunter asked the young mercenary and he threw the cloak over his shoulders.

"Sounds good" she nodded, her gaze following him as he left.

"Don't do anything stupid will you?" he asked, getting a _"When do I ever"_ as an answer as he left.

She reassumed her cross-legged position in front of the door placing the bag onto her own cloak on the floor starring at the still thinking figure in front of her.

"You're not done asking questions, are you?" the inky haired figure snapped him out. Felix only managed a small shake of his head fearing his words would not cooperate at this time. She looked at him expectantly but patiently waiting for him to recover his composure.

He swallowed dryly "So why did you help me? What's in it for you?" he inquired.

"Well that's a pretty easy one actually" she began with a knowing tone "You see if you stumble upon anyone from the New World— as we've started referring to it, you can turn then in to the qidin and get a varying reward—" she trailed off "but we thought since you new worlders possess knowledge we don't you could be useful to us"

"So there actually was a catch to all of this" taken aback by the serosity of his own voice.

"I don’t go back on my word" she said leaning back "I'm offering you a choice here"

He considered her words very carefully "And what do either offer" he asked a bit hesitantly.

"Well the qidin say they're sending the new worlders back— but none of the individuals who disappeared were reported found now were they?" he shook his head "That's what I though" she huffed "And I'm not going to sugarcoat our side here, there's really not much we offer other than food and shelter in exchange for your help and our job gets pretty brutal more often than not so you better choose your death" she explained ominously lighthearted. He swallowed desiccated, horror flashing on his eyes, his breath leaving for a moment too long.

"You don’t have to answer right now" her voice somewhat calming "You have about two months to think about it" she explained.

"Two months?" he tilted his head.

"Yup~ that's about the time we'll need to get to the qidin capital Hafa, all the way in their territory A'elsera" He sighted, even more things for him to wrap his head around. "For now just sleep, I'll be keeping watch" He hesitated for a second but nodded.

Taking his googles off and placing them on the nightstand next to him and kicking his sneakers off he slipped under the covers giving his young guardian a last quick glance as he tuned to face the window as he drifted off to sleep today's events finally catching up to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ✧ exposition ✧
> 
> also  
> 1 hour and 30 minutes into the new year  
> Happy New Year Everybody!


	3. New circumstances

He woke up in cold sweat, disoriented and found himself hyperventilating. He looked around the foreign room and all the memories of the previous day started coming back to him. Next to the door he saw the seemingly asleep figure of his nightly guardian then turned his head to the window just to see that the sun was only starting to make itself known. Clenching at his chest with his still gloved hands he took a deep breath trying to regulate his heartbeat.

"Nightmares?" a silent voice broke the room's silence. He flinched at the sound but nodded with a shaky 'yeah' before turning to face its source and was met with the calming golden shimmer of her now open eyes.

"I— I'm sorry, did I wake you?" he whispered not to break the soothing silence of the young morning.

She shook her head "Wasn't asleep" she reassured.

Felix took another deep breath, now more steady and calm he asked "Hey do you think these have anything to do with the magic that got me here?"  
"Depends on what you saw, nightmares are a normal thing after all, it could just be the new environment" she explained.

He considered it for a moment "Are dreams and nightmares things with meaning in this world?"

She hummed thoughtfully "That's not a really common thing, but considering your um— situation and the kind of magic that affected you I wouldn’t exactly be surprised if you saw some sort of illusions or even the Qhealids' memories"

"Qhealids?" he echoed.

"Self-proclaimed gods basically" she clarified "Voidkind. Creatures from the dimension of Uix. Very powerful ones, with a deeper understanding of magic than anyone has or will probably ever have. They're also the reason why all the other species from Uix are feared" she breathed a snort at that "They're the ones who originally came up with the spells the qidin used all those eons ago. They essentially and quiet literally tore themselves apart to make these spells work and their power is still there whenever any of them are casted"

He nodded and made a sound showing understanding but then fell silent again thinking about what exactly he saw. Felix was a very logical person, dreams and nightmares didn't bother him and he just brushed them off as just another thing that just— happens, but something about this one was really nagging him.

"Right—" she got up stretching "enough of that. I have plans to go to the market today for some provisions before meeting up with Ash. Wanna come?" Caught off guard by the question he nodded almost desperately.

"Get ready, I'll be downstairs" she said retrieving her discarded belongings and leaving.

The stillness provided by the early morning got a yawn out of him and almost lulled him back to sleep but he shook it off and put on his sneakers and googles, and opted for tying the coat around his waist. Downstairs Felix found his companion I should really ask for her name at the counter talking to an old man.

"Well aren't you quick" she lightly giggled "This is Elias, he's the innkeeper and the head chef here" Elias put out his hand for him to shake.

"Felix, thanks for having us" he took it.

"My pleasure" the old man smiled kindly. "It's been a long time since I've seen a new worlder, how have times changes? By your clothes I guess a lot" he said cheerfully.

"Yeah quite a lot, we've been pretty good at advancing our technologies in the past millennia" Felix scratched the back of his neck.

The tavern was empty at this time so he wasn't too worried about the new worlder thing but he was still pretty warry of anyone who knew but as the old man pointed out, with his clothes he stands out like a sore thumb.

"We'll be off now" the girl broke the awkward silence that was building.

"Be careful now" the innkeeper advised "and tell Ash I said hello" he smiled.

"Will do" she assured him while she draped the cloak over her shoulders "Let's go" Felix complied waving goodbye.

By the time they got to the market the merchants have already started setting up their shops. While she was concentrating on stoking up Felix was more interested in this world's currency. He noticed her using both copper and silver coins. They stopped for some apples, paper and ink, a few bundles of strange plants and powders he wasn't familiar with, and traded some other types of plants she had on her for some gold coins so he assumed whatever they were they were very valuable.

What surprised him though was the last shop they stopped at when it was nearing noon. To begin with it was an actual building instead of a stand, second it was a clothing store and Felix was a bit confused to say the least. He was looking at the fascinating clothing options of this world while his companion was talking to the shopkeeper. At the end of their little conversation the girl followed by him like a child went to another side of the store where she gestured to the clothing neatly put on display.

"Go ahead and pick something" she spoke. He just blinked at her perplexed. "You attract unwanted attention, I can't have you walking around like that" she added. Somebody's one step ahead he nodded and began looking around.

A few of her comments later he settled on a loose long sleeved muted cream shirt with a short sleeved dark brown tunic to go on top strapped at the middle with a fairly wide belt all paired with a pair of weathered brown loose pants and dark old hunter boots. He hoped they weren't too fancy or expensive in any way. She left him to change while she paid for his new attire so he may never know. Felix did just that and put away his other clothes in a bag she offered him which now hung from his side covered by a cloak his guide told him to put on just to blend in with the travellers. She didn't say anything about the goggles or gloves he decided to keep on so he hoped it would be fine.

At noon they left the city to go into the forest again, walking on a path along a calm stream. As per her agreement with Ash they were to meet up with the man in question.

He was waiting for them with three horses at fork in the road. As they got closer Felix noticed Ash had a feathered companion resting on his arm as he soothed its puffed chest. The bird looked majestic to say the least it had gorgeous red and golden feathers with elegant wings and a long exquisite tail. If fire was a bird, this would be it. Phoenix then? he thought. It also had a cylindrical container on its back indicating it being a messenger bird.

"Good news we can cut our trip by a few weeks" Ash stated as they approached.

"So is that why Flare's with you?" she asked the phoenix flying to her, recognizing its owners voice and perching on her hand instead.

"Ya, thought I should try sending a message to Ramnal to see if he'd let us pass through Xopher—" he trailed off not meeting her eyes.

"But~" she urged him to continue.

"He said he's gonna let us through if he gets to call in a favor I owe him" Ash sighted.

She hummed thoughtfully as she preened the Flare's feathers, who unexpectedly disappeared in flames leaving Felix who was observing it staring into empty space.  
"I have some ideas of what he might want from you and you don't have to do it you know" she offered soothingly.

"I have an idea of my own but it's alright I had to deal with it sooner or later" Ash seems defeated in more than one way. "I'll take care of that and you're left to deal with this" he noted as he handed her a rolled piece of paper.

She opened and looked it over for a bit before rolling it closed again "You can't tell me not to do anything stupid and then give me this" she smirked.

"That still stands" he stated plainly while he hopped on the back of one of the horses.

"Know how to ride a horse?" he turned to Felix.

"If we ride slowly I think I'll manage" he chuckled nervously. Ash nodded and while Felix befriended the horse next to his he turned to their short companion who was once again examining the letter and holding the bridle of her own horse.

"Meet us in Xilaq?" he inquired.

"Shouldn't take more than two days" she nodded.

With Felix now mounted they took off on the right path leaving her at the fork.

After a few hours of hushed riding through the woods Felix's whispered 'ah damn' broke the silence that had built between them. A quiet hiss but it caught Ash's attention nonetheless.

"Something wrong?" he shot him a glace over the shoulder.

"Ah, no I—" he cleared his throat "I just— forgot to ask for her name" he trailed off sheepishly, surprised when Ash broke out laughing.

"Why am I not surprised she didn't tell you" he stated wiping at the corner of his eye. "It's Kalypso, or Kay as she likes it" Ash revealed after a speechless moment.  
He hummed in a show of understanding, now catching on to another though that was lingering around.

"So what was the paper you gave her?" he asked a bit hesitantly.

"Oh that was— it was just a job offer" Ash replied. "Job, huh" he echoed.

"Do you mind me asking what is it exactly you guys do?" Felix questioned.

"Just about anything really. Miscellaneous jobs here and there, some harder than others, so more dangerous than others. As long as they pay the type of job doesn’t particularly matter" was Ash's reply.  
Felix wasn't entirely keen an voicing his next question but "So how often does that involve taking lives?" he earned another now surprised glance from his guide.

"Someone's observant" he huffed a laugh "Pretty often. Usually just one target at a time" the word 'target' making Felix flinch but he pushed on.

"So what was the one you gave um— Kay?"  
"You're a smart guy, what do you think?" he sneakered, a question that awaited no answer, a glimpse of sadness in his voice. Felix fell silent after that, picking on that this is a somewhat touchy subject.

A couple more hours and the sun was already making way for its eternal partner. They stopped in a clearing between the trees to take a break and a bite. Each of them scored some sleep before they were on the road again with the sun's first rays.

Half a day more and they were out of the Esstall Woods as Ash called them. Another two and a breathtaking structure came into their field of view. It wasn't particularly big, but it was sure impressive. Despite its dark palette it gave off a shrine feel. A grand black stone arch was supported by two elaborate pillars. The ground around it was changed to some sort of dark bricks, complementing the atmosphere. In-between the complex structure rested a semi-transparent indigo wall shifting between other shades of dark blue and purple along with a few reds. By Ash's words this was their destination, one of the portals between the dimensions of Eixin and Xopher. As important as these portals were made to be there were next to no guards on this side.

As they came in closer an almost formally clothed figure could be made out waiting in front of the portal.

"That the guy you said will let us through?" Felix asked.

"Yup~ that's him" he cooed and called out to the awaiting man "Been standing there long Ramnal?"

"Almost thought you decided to chicken out" he laughed in response.

Ash faked an offended gesture "How dare you!?" he said mockingly which earned him another giggle as they dismounted near the structure.

This allowed Felix to get a better look at their new friend. Ash explained that they're old friends and are almost the same age, a mere two year gap, with Ash being the older of the two yet when you looked at them you wouldn't have believed that to be any more wrong with Ramnal looking much younger than that. Maybe it was just the fact that Ash was much taller or had such a heavy build or that Ramnal's movements were so much more graceful and light. He definitely looked a hundred times more formal than Ash ever could in his mind with a light green shirt dark pants. His light copper hair was caught in a tidy high ponytail despite the few strands loose on his forehead. His eyes were the same as Ash's only his pupils being a lighter shade of red at a closer inspection. Similar to Ash's dark red pairs of markings resting on either side of his jaw, he had one on each side running up to his cheeks and one on top of his nose.

Offering a brotherly hand shake Ash instead received a tight hug from his old pal, some light pink ghosting in his cheeks from the gesture. They both smiled nonetheless.

"I really missed you. Should've made you promise to visit" Ramnal broke the hug gingerly.

"Don't see how that could've accrued" Ash flicked his forehead with a chuckle.

"So—" he cleared his throat "What is it you want?" his voice suddenly more serious.

"I bet you already know"

Ash sighted at that comment "Sometimes I hate being right" he looked away not meeting Ramnal's gaze.

"You can't ignore this forever, Ash. Talk to her. It doesn't have to be for her sake or mine, it can be for your mission, just—" he trailed off "just go see her" a saddening desperation creeping in his voice.

"Alright I get it don't start with that face" Ash sighed in defeat.

"Thank you" a genuine yet somewhat grieving smile playing on his lips. "Come along now" he turned to the portal leading the travelers through.

Felix didn't know what he expected a portal would feel like but he definitely wasn't expecting what he got. There were multiple sparkles, some going off like a tiny new year firework display some just lingering like floating stars. There were multiple rushing sounds, buzzing, humming and something akin to whispers all mixed and mashed together to make the dizziness that was building up even worse.

Stepping on the other side he had to take a few deep breaths to regain his composure. He wasn't sure what he was expecting on the other side either. His guides had said something about it being a more or less hellish dimension, with its residents being the only ones who could survive in the infernal heat for as long as they have, managing to develop a society for themselves. The other side was what seemed to be a courtyard, with stables and guards, which all took a more presentable position the moment they came in, all around.

"Welcome to Xopher" Ash voiced from his side "You holding up alright? This place isn't exactly known for being forgiving" he continued.

"The portal's sort of barbaric at best but I guess I'll live" Felix tried to crack up a joke which seemed to work as indicated by Ash's laugh and the amused noises from Ramnal.  
At the stables they were greeted by an old man "Good to see you back in one piece Ash" he smiled lovingly.

"Good to be back Kodran" Ash returned the smile. They handed their bridles into the old man's capable hands and continued following Ramnal through the grand gates leading to an even grander city.

The dijin city of Xilaq, Ash had explained this was the capital and biggest city in Xopher. It was breathtaking to say the least with its elegant and bright architecture despite the dark nature of the dimension, blue fired lanterns illuminating the black stone roads. Blue and red trees were scattered around making the place feel alive if its citizens weren't enough.

Everyone tried to behave normal when they laid eyes on them, but quick motions to turn around and whispers weren't exactly the most nonchalant behavior. As uncomfortable as Felix was at all the eyes on his back Ash seemed even more on edge. His pretty relaxed stance transitioning to one of a trained warrior, disciplined and ready for anything the battlefield might throw at him.

The road they followed lead them face to face with a dignified yet delicate looking castle, the guards at the entrance once again straightening their stand at their sight.

"At ease men" Ash commanded in a calm and confident voice, it didn't fit him, but they obeyed and let them go past.

"Mind explaining that" Felix raised an eyebrow.

"I may or may not be, um—"

"the crowned prince" Ramnal cut his nervousness off. Ash shot him a glare "What? You had to say that anyway" Ramnal snickered causing Ash to only intensify him mocking glare, but visually relaxing a bit at the positive mood change.

The younger dijin lead them into the castle, only stopping upon reaching the courtly door of a study where a distinguished lady, with golden blonde hair, was sitting behind a desk with piles of letters and documents.

"Excuse our intrusion, Your Majesty" Ramnal announced.

"How can I help you Ramnal?" the Queen offered not looking up from her work.

"You have a visitor" Ash's voice rang gently.


End file.
